The New York Giants have had to patch and fill along the defensive line with ends Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora down and backup Justin Tuck out for the season. Same for the Atlanta Falcons, missing Kerney for the season and John Abraham for most of it.

"You don't use it as an excuse. Every team faces injuries. It's just where you face them," says Rich McKay, Atlanta's general manager. "Sometimes they come at a position where you just can't find someone on the street."

All those missing defensive ends should make life easier for offensive tackles, but Pace (St. Louis Rams) and Matt Lepsis (Denver Broncos) are out for the season, and yet another Giant, Luke Petitgout, may be as well.

The Oakland Raiders lost left tackle Robert Gallery and running back LaMont Jordan, probably for the season. The Arizona Cardinals will go without defensive end Bert Berry, their leading sacker. The Philadelphia Eagles lose McNabb for up to a year.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could not put defensive end Simeon Rice, defensive tackle Ellis Wyms or linebacker Shelton Quarles on the field against the Washington Redskins, and cornerback Brian Kelley previously suffered a season-ending injury. But the Redskins were missing Portis and receiver Santana Moss. The Bucs have lost their starting quarterback for two years in a row (Brian Griese in 2005, Chris Simms this year).

Consider the struggling Falcons, losers of their last three games. They held the Baltimore Ravens scoreless for a half Sunday before falling 24-10. They did not have their starting defensive ends or middle linebacker Edgerton Hartwell, and the cobbled-together secondary featured kick returner Allen Rossum at cornerback in the absence of Jason Webster, Jimmy Williams and nickel back Kevin Mathis.

"You have to survive the injuries as a team. You have to have quality depth. I think we have good depth. We've lost key guys over the last month, and we just haven't been able to rebound," running back Warrick Dunn says.

The injury numbers for this season are not out of line. Through 11 weeks, the 32 teams parked 187 players on injured reserve, ending their season. A year ago at the same time there were 178 on IR, against 203 in 2004.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have 12 players on IR.

If there's any upside, it's that reserves gain experience. Giants coach Tom Coughlin calls it a "priceless circumstance" for younger players, though it's costly to the team in the short run. And when injuries strip down one position, teams can lose their ability to function, though, as McKay says, "It's not that you can't win. You just have to overcome."

As did the New England Patriots. Minus three of their four regulars in the secondary, they beat the Green Bay Packers 35-0 Sunday, earning their first road shutout in 20 years.

Holla back:

Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren did not hesitate to tell his players what he thought of the 20-14 loss to the San Francisco 49ers that saw Frank Gore rush for a Niners record 212 yards. He torched them in the locker room.

"I don't like doing that. I really don't." Holmgren says. "And I said some things I wasn't too proud of."

The players took it professionally, not personally.

"I think we needed it," linebacker Julian Peterson says. "First half we came out, I think, a little sluggish as an overall team. The second half, that's when you saw the fight back in us.

"If we had played like we did the second half in the first half, the score would've been different."

Extra points:

The San Diego Chargers rank second in the NFL in converting third downs and were 12 of 14 in the second halves of their last two games, both of which featured big comebacks. The Chargers have five players with three or more touchdown receptions, which no other team can claim. ... Buffalo Bills linebacker London Fletcher-Baker made 13 tackles against the Houston Texans, boosting his total to 104 and giving him his eighth consecutive 100-tackle season. It's the fourth-longest streak of 100-tackle seasons of any active NFL player. ... Oakland has lost 11 consecutive division games.